The Prince George Spruce Kings were faced to make a move in goal with word that veteran Stefan Wornig is out for the season with muscle cramps. Wornig hasn’t played a game for PG since the beginning of November after amassing a 6-6-2 record with a 2.76 GAA, a .908 save percentage and one shutout this season.

The 19-year-old from Surrey, BC came to the Spruce Kings in the off-season after two years with Powell River. His BCHL career record is 17-28-2 with a 3.22 GAA, a .905 save percentage, and two shutouts. Wornig has been placed on long-term injury reserve by Prince George.

To fill the void left by Wornig’s absence, the Spruce Kings have signed Aris Anagnostopoulos from the junior B Kamloops Storm. The 18-year-old was an affiliate player for PG this season, playing 9:04 in a game against Salmon Arm on November 26th. He made five saves and didn’t give up a goal. This season in the KIJHL, the Kelowna, BC product is 7-7-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a .916 save percentage along with two shutouts.

Photo credit: Ben Raffler/Twitter

Powell River has released defenceman Ben Raffler after acquiring Matthew Cairns via trade from Georgetown of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The 18-year-old Raffler skated in 18 games with the Kings this season, putting up three assists. The Burnaby, BC product had his junior B rights traded from Comox Valley to Campbell River in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League in November, and he’ll join the Storm now after being released by Powell River.

Photo credit: Keystone/TI-Press/Gabriele Putzu

Forward Andrew Ebbett (Salmon Arm, 2001-02) has signed a two-year contract extension with Bern of the Swiss League. The Vernon, BC native has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 18 games with Bern this season, his second with the club. He recently tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) for Team Canada as it captured the 90th Spengler Cup. The 34-year-old is a veteran of 224 career NHL games with Anaheim, Chicago, Minnesota, Phoenix, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh.

Photo credit: Vancouver Canucks/Facebook

Goaltender Michael Garteig (Quesnel AP/Powell River/Penticton, 2008-12) is on his way back to the ECHL after being assigned to the Alaska Aces by the AHL’s Utica Comets. In four games for the Comets this season, the Prince George, BC product has a record of 0-1-1, a goals against average of 2.85, and a save percentage of .907. The 25-year-old has played eight games this season for the Aces, with a record of 7-1-0, a 2.35 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

Powell River signed another forward for 2015-16, bringing Gavin Rauser into the fold. The 18-year-old spent 2014-15 with the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Campbell River Storm and scored 46 points (18 goals, 28 assists) in 40 games. He also played seven games with Powell River as an affiliate, notching one assist. Rauser hails from Campbell River, BC.

Forward David Van Der Gulik (Chilliwack, 1999-2002) and his Manchester Monarchs beat the Utica Comets 2-1 to claim the 2015 Calder Cup title as AHL champions. The 32-year-old from Abbotsford, BC had nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 13 playoff games for the Monarchs. Van Der Gulik was the 2001 BCHL Coastal Conference Rookie of the Year after putting up 80 points (42 goals, 38 assists) in 60 games. The championship is the first and last in franchise history for Manchester as the Monarchs move to Ontario, CA next season.

Trail F Jake Lucchini (95) is off to Michigan Tech University, starting in September 2015. Lucchini, who’s into his third season with the Smoke Eaters, has 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 34 games this season. The Trail native announced his commitment on Twitter here.

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Lucchini’s teammate Charlie Zuccarini (94) also took to Twitter to announce his college plans. The 20-year-old from Shelton, Connecticut is off to Arizona State University in September 2015. He took the league by storm at the Bauer BCHL Showcase in September by scoring five goals in the Smokies 8-3 win over Coquitlam and has a solid season going with 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists) in 34 games.

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Another BCHLer will join Zuccarini at ASU as Victoria F Brett Gruber (96) has committed to the Sun Devils, although he’ll play one more season with the Grizzlies before heading to school in September 2016. Gruber is second in scoring on Victoria and 24th overall in the BCHL with 35 points (18 goals, 17 ssists) in 33 games this season. The House of Sparky blog has the details on Gruber’s commitment here.

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A bright spot in the Surrey Eagles season has been the play of G Christian Short (95) and now he’s the first player on their roster to commit to an NCAA school. Short, who’s from Woodbridge, Ontario, is off to RIT this coming September. He has a 4-13 record along with a 4.25 goals-against-average and an .898 save percentage. The Eagles release on Short’s commitment is here.

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Chilliwack F Luke McColgan (94) has committed to the University of Alaska-Anchorage for September 2014. McColgan is in his first season in the BCHL after being acquired from the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars back in June. The Manhattan Beach, California native has 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 33 games this season. The Alaska Dispatch News has details on the release here.

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West Kelowna F Jonathan Desbiens (96) will spend one more season with the Warriors before going to Bentley University in September 2016. The 18-year-old from Rosemere, Quebec has 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists) in 32 games this season. He announced his commitment to Bentley on his Twitter account here.

Powell River added 19-year-old forward Nick Halagian as a free agent from the St. Catharines Falcons of the junior B Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. Halagian had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 15 games with the Falcons. He’s a veteran of 136 major junior games with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the the QMJHL, posting 21 points (13 goals, eight assists).

Blueliner Nick Charif (Victoria, 2013-14) was traded in the Western Hockey League from Red Deer to Spokane for D Colton Bobyk (96) and a 2016 bantam draft pick. Charif started the 2013-14 season with the Grizzlies before joining the Rebels. He had two points (one goal, one assist) in nine games with Victoria. Spokane’s release on the trade is here.

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Veteran forward Glen Metropolit (Vernon, 1994-95) has signed a contract extension with Adler Mannheim for the 2015-16 season. Metropolit is in his first season with Mannheim and has 36 points (seven goals, 29 assists) in 32 games. If you understand German, the release on Metropolit’s extension is here.

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Defenseman Brad Hunt (Burnaby, 2005-08) has been reassigned to the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL by the Edmonon Oilers. The 26-year-old had two assists in five games with the Oilers since being recalled from Oklahoma City. Here’s the release on the move.

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25-year-old right winger Andrew Cherniwchan (Nanaimo, 2007-08) was loaned by the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League to the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins. Cherniwchan has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 11 games with the Stingrays this season. The Stingrays release on the move is here.

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Forward Brodie Reid (Surrey/Burnaby/Penticton, 2005-09) signed a professional try-out contract with the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans. The Delta native has appeared in 12 AHL games this season with Adirondack and St. John’s, totaling five points (three goals, two assists). He has also recorded nine points (three goals, six assists) in nine ECHL games with Elmira. The Amerks release on the signing is here.

Merritt Centennials defenseman Jake Clifford is the second player from the league to commit to Arizona State University. Clifford, who’s from Brecksville, Ohio, joins West Kelowna forward Jordan Masters asro new recruit for the Sun Devils.

Clifford is third on scoring among Cents defensemen with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 28 games this season. There’s been no release from Merritt or the BCHL on Clifford’s commitment, but ASU blog House of Sparky has the scoop here.

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With the wrap-up of games Sunday, the British Columbia Hockey League and its players are officially into a five day Christmas break before the action heats up again with Alberni Valley hosting Powell River this Saturday, December 27th.

Christmas is seen as the unofficial mid-point of the season, despite the fact that every team has already played more than 50 percent of its 2014-15 schedule.

Salmon Arm is the hottest team in the BCHL heading into the break as the SilverBacks have won three straight. Penticton, Merritt, Victoria, and Coquitlam are all riding modest two game winning streaks. Trail is the coldest team at Christmas, the Smoke Eaters have dropped nine in a row. Alberni Valley has the second longest losing streak right now, having lost four straight.

Powell River forward Jacob Pritchard bulged the twine in four straight games prior to the break while Coquitlam forward Brett Supinski and Victoria forward Brett Gruber have each scored in three straight games. Langley’s Gage Torrel is on a six game assist streak, followed Merritt’s Diego Cuglietta, Langley’s Justin Szeto, and Alberni Valley’s Evan Tironese, who each have helpers in four straight games. Victoria’s Dane Gibson has the longest current point streak at ten games, notching 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) during that stretch. Supinksi and Langley’s Kevan Kilistoff are next with eight game point streaks.

Coquitlam Express veteran forward Corey Makin leads the BCHL in goals (32) and points (59) in 35 games. The Ferris State University commit is on pace for 53 goals and 98 points. West Kelowna sophomore Liam Blackburn has already eclipsed his point total from last season by eight and in nine less games. The Prince George native has 51 points to sit second in scoring, including a league-leading 37 assists.

Kurt Gosselin from the Alberni Valley Bulldogs leads all defensemen in goals (9) and points (37). Salmon Arm blueliner Andrew Farny is second in d-man scoring with eight goals and 25 assists.

Between the pipes, Penticton goaltenders dominate the top two positions in terms of stats. Vees second year goalie Hunter Miska is tops in goals-against-average at 1.91 while teammate Brendan Barry has a 1.92 GAA. Vernon’s Danny Todosychuk is third at 2.38 GAA.

Miska has the best save percentage at .929 while Nanaimo’s Guillaume Decelles is a close second at .928. The Vernon duo of Todosychuk and Jarrod Schamerhorn are tied with Miska with the most shutouts at three. Barry and Merritt netminder Jonah Imoo are next with two apiece.

Forward Aaron Volpatti (Vernon, 2003-06) was recalled by the Washington Capitals from the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The 29-year-old hasn’t played a game with the Caps this season after undergoing neck fusion surgery back in September. He was assigned to the American League for a conditioning stint and played three games with no points and six penalty minutes. The Washington Post newspaper has the story here.

Penticton Vees forward Tyson Jost scored the deciding goal in the shootout as Canada West improved to 0-1-1-0 at the World Junior A Challenge in Kindersley, Saskatchewan with a 3-2 win over Russia.

BCHL players factored into all the scoring for Canada West as Jost and Demico Hannoun each assisted on Vees teammate Gabe Bast’s goal in the second period. Prince George Spruce Kings defenseman Viktor Dombrovskiy assisted on Jost’s first period marker.

The game summary is available right here. The standings at the tournament are different from what you may be used to. It counts three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss and no points for a regulation loss. Canada West finishes second in the Group B preliminary round and faces Canada East in one of Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Canada East ends up last in Group A with an 0-1-0-1 record for just one point after a 3-2 loss Tuesday to the United States.

The game is first time Canada West and Canada East have ever met in the quarterfinals at the tournament. Overall, Canada West is 5-0 against its national counterpart.

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West Kelowna Warriors forward Jordan Masters has committed to Arizona State University for the 2015-16 season.

ASU just received NCAA Div. I certification last month.

Masters, from Rochester, New York, has 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 22 games for West Kelowna this season. He played in the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game during the 2011-12 season as a member of the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks.

He also originally committed to the University of New Hampshire back in August 2011. The Warriors release on Masters’ commitment to ASU is here.

Although there’s a CJHL inter-league moratorium on player transfers until January 1st, there’s no stopping BCHL teams from dealing with each other, as Salmon Arm and Powell River connected on a trade Tuesday afternoon.

The deal sees defenseman Jordan Burns (95) head to the SilverBacks for future considerations. Burns, who’s committed to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks for next season, has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 22 games with the Kings this season.

The move sees Burns head closer to home, as he’s from Vernon. The Salmon Arm side of things on the trade is here, while Powell River’s take is here.

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With the BCHL Trade Deadline just under a month away, I’d like to re-introduce the BCHL Trade Tracker to the blog. As usual, stick tap to Gregg Drinnan and his WHL Taking Note blog for the inspiration.

On every post I make between now and January 10th, I’ll summarize any moves to date. In the effort of being accurate, I’ll only post trades I know are complete or are posted in the ‘Transactions’ section of the BCHL website. The Trade Tracker won’t include instances where a team has signed a player as a free agent.

Forward Travis Ouellette (Penticton, 2008-09) was traded in the East Coast Hockey League on Tuesday, going from the Indy Fuel to the Gwinnett Gladiators for forward Bobby Hughes. The 25-year-old from Windsor, Ontario played three games with the Fuel this season, registering no points. The Gladiators release on the deal is here.

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Defenseman Jonathan Sigalet (Salmon Arm, 2002-03) left HC Slovan Bratislava in the KHL and has been released by the team. Sigalet, who’s from Vancouver, notched one assist in 38 games with Bratislava this season. No word where he’ll end up. Bratislava tweeted some encouraging words for Sigalet though.

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The AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers signed forward Colton Gillies (Surrey AP, 2004-05) after he played the first 25 games of the season on a professional try-out contract. He had three points (one goal, two assists) with the Sound Tigers. The nephew of Islanders great Clark Gillies skated with the Rochester Americans last season. Bridgeport’s release on the signing is here.

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Hartford of the AHL has returned goaltender Jeff Malcolm (Quesnel, 2007-09) to the ECHL’s Greenville Road Warriors. Malcolm played in one game for the Wolf Pack during his recall, posting a 5-3 victory vs. Worcester Friday night. So far this season in Greenville, the 25-year-old has an 11-4-0 record, a 2.13 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage and one shutout. Hartford’s release is here.

The Merritt Centennials are without the services of D Jake Clifford (94) for six games after he was handed a suspension by the BCHL for an illegal blow to the head.

Clifford took the penalty late in the third period of Saturday’s 5-1 win over Powell River. The Brecksville, Ohio product sat out Tuesday’s 6-2 win over Chilliwack and is eligible to return to the Cents lineup on Tuesday, November 11 in Trail against the Smoke Eaters.

The Vernon Vipers made two adjustments to their roster on Tuesday. First, they sent D Ryley Booth (96) to Salmon Arm. Booth, who’s from nearby Armstrong, has four points (1-3-4) in ten games with the Snakes this season.

Second, Vipers GM and Head Coach Mark Ferner picked up F Liam Finlay (97) from the Penticton Vees for future considerations. Finlay is already committed to the University of Denver for the 2016-17 season. He has five points (1-4-5) in ten games with the Vees in 2014-15 thus far.

Finlay has a ton of offensive potential, as he averaged nearly 1.5 points-per-game through two seasons with the Okanagan Rockets in the BC Major Midget League. The 17-year-old from Kelowna had 101 points (27-74-101) in just 68 career BCMML games.

The Vipers release on the Booth trade is available here and on the Finlay acquisition here.

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The BCHL’s two “regal” teams hooked up on a trade Tuesday as the Powell River Kings and Prince George Spruce Kings swapped veteran players.

Leung posted ten points (5-5-10) in 14 games with PR this season and Lashuk had the same for PG. However, Leung brings 31 games of playoff experience to the Spruce Kings, which is likely a big reason for Prince George making the move. It’s a deal that I like for both squads.

F Andrew Ebbett (Salmon Arm, 2001-02) was reassigned to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday last week.

Ebbett was recalled from the Baby Pens a week ago, but didn’t get into any games with Pittsburgh. The Vernon native, who was the BCHL Interior Conference Rookie of the Year in 2002, has four points (1-3-4) in four games with WBS this season.

Another BCHL broadcast position became open Monday when the Abbotsford Heat announce that Brandon Astle joined the team as Play-by-Play Broadcaster and Media Relations Coordinator for the upcoming season. As a result, Astle leaves the broadcast booth at the Langley Events Centre and with the Langley Rivermen.

The Rivermen are the sixth BCHL team to have a new voice in the booth for 2013-14, joining Trail, Cowichan Valley, Vernon, Salmon Arm and Surrey. Of the six, only the Silverbacks have announced who is calling their games this year as Chris Wahl made the move from Trail to Salmon Arm.

With just 25 days to go before the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack, I’d expect the five teams to make announcements pretty quickly.

Here’s the release from the Heat:

The Abbotsford Heat announced today that Brandon Astle has been named Play-by-Play Broadcaster and Media Relations Coordinator for the 2013-14 American Hockey League (AHL) season.

Astle joins the Heat after five seasons with Langley Chiefs/Rivermen of the BC Junior Hockey League (BCHL), where he broadcasted more than 300 games at the BCHL level. Brandon also served as play-by-play broadcaster for the World Junior A Challenge Tournament in 2011.

Heat President Ryan Walter said: “We are excited to have Brandon as a part of our team. He has great knowledge of hockey in British Columbia and will bring a new energy to our broadcasts this season. We look forward to hearing him call Heat games this year.”

“Being the voice of a professional hockey team has been a dream of mine since I was young and I cannot wait for my first broadcast,” said Astle. “My goal is to keep Heat fans in the Fraser Valley and surrounding areas actively engaged by delivering the latest team news in an energetic manner. I look forward to be working closely with Mr. Walter, Coach Ward, and the rest of the organization as the Heat continue to become a strong community entity. I would like to thank the Rivermen, Chiefs, BCHL, and the passionate fans of Langley for their fantastic support over the years.”

The Heat will announce their home station for radio broadcasts in the coming weeks. Last season, Heat games were broadcast online on teamradio.ca.

As I Tweeted earlier tonight, the AHL All-Star Classic, which was tonight in Providence, Rhode Island, featured two former BCHL players.

Defenceman Brad Hunt of the Chicago Wolves, who skated in the BCHL with the Burnaby Express, scored the third goal for the Western Conference All-Stars en route to a 7-6 win. The Maple Ridge product had one shot in the game and finished at +1, which is remarkable considering his team allowed six goals.

Meanwhile, defenceman Brandon Manning of the Adirondack Phantoms, a former Prince George Spruce King, finished with two shots and was -1 for the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the loss.

The Winnipeg Jets, in conjunction with the St. John’s IceCaps, are pleased to announce they have agreed to terms with Raymond Sawada and Dean Arsene on American Hockey League contracts. As per club policy, terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Sawada, 27, played in 17 games with the IceCaps last season where he recorded three points (2G, 1A) and 14 penalty minutes. He also appeared in 15 Calder Cup Playoff games with St. John’s, earning six points (3G, 3A) and 10 penalty minutes.

Sawada played in 52 games with the Manitoba Moose during the 2008-09 season where he accumulated 21 points (6G, 15A) and 31 penalty minutes. He also helped the team make the Calder Cup Finals playing in 22 post season games for eight points (3G, 5A).

The Richmond, BC native has played in 11 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars where he earned one goal. Sawada was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in the second round, 52nd overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.